Case with heat-resistant retractor and closure belt



Oct. 28, 1952 BRADLEY 2,615,772

CASE WITH HEATER-RESISTANT RETRACTOR AND CLOSURE BELT Filed April 22, 1949 8 SHAW/MM Jay/v 6.5RADLEY ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 28, 1952 John-GI- Bradley, washin io inacf Application n rii izz, 1949,".serial JNo..s9,07 s'olaimst (015312-20;

(Granted-under the act o f-Mai ch -3, -183{ as= I I amended April-30, 1928;. 370 0. G....757,)I v

The invention described herein mayt'beimanufacture'd and used by." or for: theLGovemmentaOf the United I States for governmental-t purposes without payment tome of any .royaltyzthereon in accordance withithe provisions *ofthe actor April 75 30.11928 (ch. 460, 45 Stat} L. 467) This invention relates; tomeansiforswithdrawing an object from" a closely=restricted"shelf space and for: protecting the object in'i'its: shelved .position, particularly a'gainst' heat and -fire. The 'invention is particularly concerned withztheistorage and manipulationof -unit's'such Jas movingpicture film, cases which contain" highly inflammable material and which cases," as well as theirisupporting shelves; are iusualiyior metal,- and-,therefore; heatconductive;

An objeot ofth'e invention is to' -provide a.belt adapted .to'beattached-:to a sidefw'a'll of a'verticai shelf support; housing orcabinet,- and to extend around: the back of an object on' a shelfl an'd'iout- I wardly to the "front" of I the shelf; on the opposite side; in position to be grasped' an'd pulled to draw the object forward for removal.

Anotherobject istoprovide a belt of the character described which is of fire and heat resistant 2 adapted for use bothwith shelving or cabinets having" doors, and those of the open typewithout doors.

- Another object is-the 'p'rovision of a-- device of the natureind-icated which is adaptedforsiiiiple and efiicient manufacture and ready attachmentto existing types of shelves and housings.

These and other objects are attained by the means described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a horizontal cross section through por- 4O tions of a shelving unit of the closable, door-provided type, showing the invention associated with a film case.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a modified form of the invention associated with a shelving unit of the open type, without door.

As already indicated, this invention is particularly contemplated for use in the storage and protection of cases of moving picture film and is so illustrated herein, although the invention has numerous other obvious applications. Film is usually formed of material so inflammable that heat and fire spreads through a quantity of stored cases of film in a very short time and adequate :protectiori? against" v the hazard constitutes a major problemi Moreover; eveniwhere the storage room is supplied':with' one of; .the; 'usual kinds of 'fire protective sprinkler "systems; operation: of :'the--latter-' might depend? on the attainment of a-certain high atmospheric temperature, or on actual flameecontact-with thesprinkleraotuati'ngimeansn And in the :interval preceding such occurrence; the :filnnmight well reach the ignitionpoinir v This invention" provides a protective barrier adapte'd' to substantially. enclose the stored cases, andto i extend'i' substantially; between the upper and'lower 'sh'elf. adjacent :theindividual film :case. Theii'nvention, moreover, provides an important advantage in the' con'venient I and instantaneous withdrawal off film teases from :their individual storage" compartments Due i to the; restricted character of the: latter, it is'often difficult to insert the hand or fingers 'for grasping Zthefilm case to remove it, without 'scratchinga;the:,hand*or breaking the? finger nails. Such disadvantages -areiobviatedl'bythis invention. 1 Iir greaterfdetail.andawith'reference to Figs. 1

and 2, a shelving unit for film cases isshfown as positioned adjacent a wall l against'whicl'rthe rear-edges?or'tl'ie vertical sidewall '2 and 3 are disposed. S'helves such as 4; 5,.andw6iaresupport'edi'b'yWalltZ -and 3': This shelving "unit is-of the typeiprovidedwitha hinged door; shown parti'all'y at 1:1 v I I g Film cases fl and 9 are shownas disposed on shelvesihand' 5,:? respectively:- These' are circular in form and mayfib'e provided with beads 5 w; on the bottom. I for. spacing: them slightly:- from the shelves.

The fire-resistant retractor belt I I as seen in Figs. 1 and 2 is formed of suitable substantial though flexible material. One end is secured as at 12 at one side of the cabinet or storage space, to side wall 3. The intermediate portions of the belt extend rearwardly behind case 8 and the other end portions of the belt project forwardly at the opposite side of the cabinet passing through a'suitable guide strap l3 which preferably permits the belt to rest edgewise against the top surface of the shelf. The free end I! of the belt may be hinged as at M to the body thereof, and formed with a finger loop or ring l5. The hinges l4 likewise serve the function of precluding accidental rearward displacement from the guide l3 of the free end portions of the belt.

It will be noted in Fig. 2 that the width of the belt is somewhat greater than the height of the associated film case so that a protective barrier is thereby provided between the film case and the cabinet walls. Normally, too, due to the substantial character of the belt, a space I6 results between the film case and the belt for further insulating the former.

When the film case is in position, the free end I! of the belt is turned inwardly of the shelf front, as indicated at the lower right hand corner of Fig. 1, permitting closing of door I. When it is desired to retract the case, said free end is turned out, as at the upper right hand corner of Fig. 1, and the belt pulled out, by use of the finger loop IS. The film case is thereby moved forwardly for easy withdrawal from its storage space.

The modification seen in Fig. 3 contemplates the use of a belt [8 similar to belt I I, but of such length as to be carried across the front of the shelf, as at I9, thus providing a forward protective barrier for the associated film cases where the latter are stored on the open or doorless type of shelving units. The means for securing the belt to the side wall of the unit, as indicated at 20, may also comprise a hook 2| to which the free loop-end of the belt may be attached for instantaneous release. With this type of belt, the guide strap 22 is preferably positioned at the extreme forward corner of the shelf space so that the portion I! of the belt lies along the front edge of the shelf. In this way, assuming that a fireprotective sprinkler system is associated with the shelving, water is permitted readily to pass downwardly behind said front belt portion [9 into each individual storage space. The width of the belts, nevertheless, as related to the vertical distance between adjacent shelves, is sufficient to assure an effective front barrier against fire, particularly cross fire from shelving on one side of the usual narrow aisle, to that on the other side.

For withdrawal of the film case, the free end of the belt is slipped off hook 2| and pulled for retracting the film case encircled by the intermediate portions of the belt.

Modifications are readily suggested by the means herein disclosed but these are believed to be comprised within the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. The combination with a housing having a pair of shelves therein, of a belt secured by one end only at one side of the housing between the shelves and adapted to have its intermediate portions extending behind an object on the lower shelf with the other end and adjacent portions of the belt projecting forward at the opposite side of the housing and adapted to extend across the front of the shelves for enclosing said object, forward pulling of the free end of the belt effecting outward movement of the object enclosed by the belt, a belt guide in the forward part of the housing, and means on the housing substantially opposite said guide for releasably securing the free end of the belt in said enclosing position.

2. The combination with a housing having a pair of shelves therein, of a belt secured by one end only at one side of the housing between the shelves and adapted to have its intermediate portions extending'behind an object on the lower shelf with the other end and adjacent portions of the belt projecting forward at the opposite side of the housing and adapted to extend across the front of the shelves for enclosing said object, the belt being of a width to extend substantially across the space between the shelves, forward pulling of the free end of the belt effecting outward movement of the object enclosed by the belt, a belt guide in the forward part of the housing, and means on the housing substantially opposite said guide for releasably securing the free end of the belt in said enclosing position.

3. The combination with a, fire-resistant housing having a pair of shelves therein, of a belt of fire-resistant material secured by one end only at one side of the housing between the shelves and adapted to have its intermediate portions extending behind an object on the lower shelf.

with the other end and adjacent portions of the belt projecting forward at the opposite side of the housing and adapted to extend across the front of the shelves for enclosing said object, forward pulling of the free end of the belt effecting outward movement of the object enclosed by the belt, a belt guide in the forward part of the housing, and means on the housing substantially opposite saidguide for releasably securing the free end of the beltin said enclosing position, said belt being of a width to extend substantially across the space between the shelves for providing in secured position a closure at the front of the shelves.

- JOHN G. BRADLEY.

' REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,069,294 Rose Aug. 5, 1913 1,153,963 Sengstock M Sept. 21, 1915 2,330,173 Gordon Sept. 21, 1943 

